Best Buy’s open-box ROG Zephyrus G14 with an RTX 5080 just made portable high-end gaming affordable

Why this deal matters: near-desktop RTX 5080 power in a 3.5 lb laptop for roughly $2,000

For roughly the price of a midrange GPU, you can now buy an Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 with an RTX 5080 inside a 14-inch, sub‑3.5 lb aluminum chassis – if you don’t mind the “open‑box” label. Best Buy is listing an “excellent condition” open‑box GA403WW with an RTX 5080 (up to 120W TGP), AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, 32GB LPDDR5X, 2TB NVMe and a 14″ 3K 120Hz Nebula OLED for $2,014.99 with free delivery. New units sit closer to $3,170. That gap is why this little laptop is suddenly worth eyeballing.

Key takeaways

• This open‑box Zephyrus G14 (GA403WW) at $2,014.99 slices roughly $1,150 off the new price – bringing RTX 5080 performance into near‑desktop territory for under $2.1K.
• The spec sheet is rare for a 14″ thin-and-light: Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, 32GB LPDDR5X, 2TB NVMe, 14″ 2880×1800 120Hz Nebula OLED, RTX 5080 (16GB GDDR7) at ~120W TGP, and a 0.63″ / ~3.46 lb CNC aluminum shell.
• Benchmarks and user reports show the RTX 5080 here pulls serious raster and RT numbers for its class – but expect louder fans and higher surface temps compared with previous, lower‑power G14s.
• This deal is also a data point: retailers are willing to clear high‑end Asus inventory, and buying open‑box is the fastest route to a premium spec without paying a premium price.

Why this is actually interesting (and why you should be picky)

Most outlets will post the price and specs and move on. The useful part is what that price does: it collapses the usual tradeoff between performance and portability. An RTX 5080 tuned to ~100-120W in a 3.5 lb chassis is functionally closer to a desktop‑class GPU than anything we’ve typically seen in a Zephyrus G14 size. Independent testing has the RTX 5080 competing with full‑power RTX 5070 Ti class silicon in raster workloads and standing out in DLSS/RT titles. That’s a meaningful jump for players who want high‑FPS 1440p play on the go.

But this is not magic. Squeezing a 120W GPU into a 0.63″ metal shell forces compromises: thermal headroom is thin, fans run hard, and surface temperatures climb. Early adopters and forum chatter note louder cooling profiles than older G14 generations. In plain language: you buy power, you pay in noise and heat. That’s fine if you know the trade. It’s less fine if you expect a whisper‑quiet ultraportable.

The uncomfortable observation the PR team hopes you skip

This is an open‑box sale for a reason. Retailers clear premium inventory when demand softens or when consumers balk at full MSRP for top specs. IGN’s recent coverage of comparable Best Buy discounts and GamesRadar’s look at Asus premium editions show the same pattern: Asus will happily sell you gold‑plated limited editions at markup, but retailers often undercut those prices to move stock. If you’re not comfortable with an open‑box warranty situation, factor that into the true cost. Also, firmware and thermal updates can change the experience — and Asus hasn’t promised any tuning specifically for this SKU.

The question nobody’s asking (but you should)

If I were talking to Asus PR right now I’d ask two things: will open‑box units carry the same warranty/return protections as new units, and will Asus release firmware that lets users dial back fan curves or power targets without crippling performance? Those answers determine whether this is a steal or a calculated risk.

Comparative context — retailers are moving premium hardware

Look beyond this single unit. IGN flagged steep discounts on other high‑end systems (Acer’s Predator Neo with an RTX 5070 Ti dipping to $1,550), and GamesRadar’s piece on Asus’s Kojima‑branded ROG Flow Z13 shows how Asus and retailers play different pricing games — Asus will press premiums, retailers will undercut. That dynamic is why a top‑spec Zephyrus G14 can slide under $2,100 in open‑box condition: inventory is being adjusted, and savvy buyers win.

What to watch next

• Best Buy stock: open‑box units vanish quickly — check the listing and confirm return/warranty terms before hitting buy.
• Community benchmarks: watch r/GamingLaptops and ROG forums for post‑purchase thermals, real‑world FPS and throttling reports from this exact GA403WW configuration.
• Firmware updates: any Asus hotfix that lets the G14 trade a few FPS for quieter fans will change the value equation — firmware release notes are the clearest sign this model will age well.

TL;DR

Best Buy’s open‑box Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 with an RTX 5080 at $2,014.99 is a rare chance to get near‑desktop GPU performance in a sub‑3.5 lb laptop. It’s a great value if you accept louder fans and higher surface temps, and if you verify warranty/return protections on the open‑box unit. Watch stock, community benchmarks, and Asus firmware updates — those will tell you whether this deal ages into a long‑term win or a short‑lived impulse buy.